Woody Allen Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === 1960β1969: Stand-up comedian === [[File:Johnny Carson Woody Allen The Tonight Show 1964.jpg|thumb|Allen on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' in June 1964]] [[File:Woody Allen Polly Bergen Andy Williams Andy Williams Show 1965.JPG|thumb|Allen, [[Polly Bergen]], and [[Andy Williams]] on ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]'' in December 1965]] From 1960 to 1969 Allen performed as a comedian to supplement his comedy writing. He worked in various places around [[Greenwich Village]], including [[The Bitter End]] and [[Cafe Au Go Go]], alongside such contemporaries as [[Lenny Bruce]], the team of [[Mike Nichols]] and [[Elaine May]], [[Joan Rivers]], [[George Carlin]], [[Richard Pryor]], [[Dick Cavett]], [[Bill Cosby]] and [[Mort Sahl]] (his personal favorite), as well as such other artists of the day as [[Bob Dylan]] and [[Barbra Streisand]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19rose.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070824125231/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/19/nyregion/19rose.html |archive-date=2007-08-24 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title= Singing a Sad Song for Their Piano Bar|newspaper= [[The New York Times]]|date= July 19, 2007|access-date= October 25, 2020|last1= Ramirez|first1= Anthony}}</ref> Comedian [[Milton Berle]] claims to have suggested to Allen to go into standup comedy and even introduced him at the [[Village Vanguard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRNw38UT7tA|title= Milton Berle on meeting Woody Allen|website= EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG|accessdate= February 19, 2022}}</ref> Comedy historian [[Gerald Nachman (journalist)|Gerald Nachman]] writes that Allen, while not the first to do standup, eventually had greater impact than all the others in the 1960s, and redefined standup comedy: "He helped turn it into biting, brutally honest satirical commentary on the cultural and psychological tenor of the times."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=525}} After Allen was taken under the wing of his new manager, [[Jack Rollins (producer)|Jack Rollins]], who had recently discovered Nichols and May, Rollins suggested he perform his written jokes as a stand-up. Allen was resistant at first, but after seeing [[Mort Sahl]] on stage, he felt safer to give it a try: "I'd never had the nerve to talk about it before. Then [[Mort Sahl]] came along with a whole new style of humor, opening up vistas for people like me."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=545}} Allen made his professional stage debut at the [[The Blue Angel (New York nightclub)|Blue Angel]] nightclub in [[Manhattan]] in October 1960, where comedian [[Shelley Berman]] introduced him as a young television writer who would perform his own material.{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=545}} His early stand-up shows with his different style of humor were not always well received or understood by his audiences. Unlike other comedians, Allen spoke to his audiences in a gentle and conversational style, often appearing to be searching for words, although he was well rehearsed. He acted "normal", dressed casually, and made no attempt to project a stage "personality". And he did not improvise: "I put very little premium on improvisation," he told [[Studs Terkel]].{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=532}} His jokes were created from life experiences, and typically presented with a dead serious demeanor that made them funnier: "I don't think my family liked me. They put a live teddy bear in my crib."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=533}} The subjects of his jokes were rarely topical, political or socially relevant. Unlike Bruce and Sahl, he did not discuss current events such as [[Civil rights movement|civil rights]], [[women's rights]], the [[Cold War]], or [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]. And although he was described as a "classic nebbish", he did not tell the standard Jewish jokes of the period.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/stars-of-david-10-jewish-hollywood-icons/|title=Let There Be Laughter β Jewish Humor Around the World|date=February 6, 2017|publisher=Beit Hatfutsot|access-date=October 10, 2019|archive-date=June 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200613223454/https://www.bh.org.il/blog-items/stars-of-david-10-jewish-hollywood-icons/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Comedy screenwriter [[Larry Gelbart]] compared Allen's style to Elaine May's: "He just styled himself completely after her".{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=546}} Like [[Nichols and May]], he often made fun of intellectuals. Cavett, who was among the minority to quickly appreciate Allen's style, recalls seeing the Blue Angel audience mostly ignore Allen's [[monologue]]: "I recognized immediately that there was no young comedian in the country in the same class with him for sheer brilliance of jokes, and I resented the fact that the audience was too dumb to realize what they were getting."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=550}} It was his subdued stage presence that eventually became one of Allen's strongest traits, Nachman argues: "The utter absence of showbiz veneer and shtick was the best shtick any comedian had ever devised. This uneasy onstage naturalness became a trademark."{{sfn|Nachman|2003|p=530}} When the media finally noticed, writers like ''The New York Times''{{'}}s [[Arthur Gelb]] described Allen's nebbish quality as "[[Charlie Chaplin|Chaplinesque]]" and "refreshing". Allen developed an anxious, nervous, and intellectual persona for his stand-up act, a move that secured regular gigs for him in nightclubs and on television. He brought innovation to the comedy monologue, genre and his stand-up comedy is considered influential.<ref name="LuttazziScanzi2002">{{cite magazine | title=''Man on the moon'', interview with comedian Daniele Luttazzi | first=Andrea |last= Scanzi | magazine = Il mucchio selvaggio | year= 2002 | language= it }}</ref> Allen first appeared on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'' on November 1, 1963, and over nine years his guest appearances included 17 in the host's chair. He subsequently released three LP albums of live nightclub recordings: the self-titled ''[[Woody Allen (album)|Woody Allen]]'' (1964), ''Volume 2'' (1965), and ''The Third Woody Allen Album'' (1968), recorded at a fund-raiser for Senator [[Eugene McCarthy]]'s presidential run.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pophistorydig.com/topics/1968-presidential-race-democrats/|title=1968 Presidential RaceDemocrats |publisher=The Pop History Dig|language=en-US|access-date=February 27, 2018}}</ref> In 1965, Allen filmed a half-hour standup special in England for [[ITV Granada|Granada Television]], titled ''[[The Woody Allen Show]]'' in the U.K. and ''Woody Allen: Standup Comic'' in the U.S.<ref name=Benedictus>{{Cite news|last=Benedictus|first=Leo|date=2013-10-24|title=Comedy gold: The Woody Allen Show|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/oct/24/comedy-gold-woody-allen-show-standup|access-date=2023-02-23|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> It is the only complete standup show of Allen's on film.<ref name=Benedictus /> The same year, Allen, along with [[Nichols and May]], Barbra Streisand, [[Carol Channing]], [[Harry Belafonte]], [[Julie Andrews]], [[Carol Burnett]], and [[Alfred Hitchcock]], took part in [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s inaugural gala in Washington, D.C., on January 18, 1965. First Lady [[Lady Bird Johnson]] described Allen and the event in her published diary, ''[[A White House Diary]]'', writing in part, "Woody Allen, that forlorn, undernourished little comedian, stopped shooting a movie in Paris and flew across the Atlantic for about five minutes of jokes".{{sfn|Johnson|2007|p=223}} In 1966, Allen wrote an hourlong musical comedy television special for [[CBS]], ''Gene Kelly in New York City''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.woodyallenpages.com/2014/08/votw-woody-allen-on-gene-kelly-1966-tv-special/ |title = VOTW: Woody Allen on Gene Kelly 1966 TV Special|publisher=WoodyAllenPages.com|date = August 10, 2014}}</ref> It focused on [[Gene Kelly]] in a musical tour around [[Manhattan]], dancing along such landmarks as [[Rockefeller Center]], [[the Plaza Hotel]] and [[the Museum of Modern Art]], which serve as backdrops for the show's production numbers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television |title = Gene Kelly on Television |publisher= UCLA Film & Television Archive}}</ref> Allen appeared in the special alongside Kelly. Guest stars included choreographer [[Gower Champion]], British musical comedy star [[Tommy Steele]], and singer [[Damita Jo DeBlanc]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Film and Television Archive|url=https://www.cinema.ucla.edu/events/2011-03-26/gene-kelly-television|publisher=UCLA|access-date=March 2, 2020}}</ref> In 1967, Allen hosted a TV special for [[NBC]], ''[[Woody Allen Looks at 1967]]''. It featured [[Liza Minnelli]], who acted alongside Allen in some skits; [[Aretha Franklin]], the musical guest; and conservative writer [[William F. Buckley]], the featured guest.<ref>Billy Graham on Woody Allen Show, 1967</ref> In 1969, Allen hosted his first American special for [[CBS]] television, ''The Woody Allen Special'', which included skits with [[Candice Bergen]], a musical performance by [[the 5th Dimension]], and an interview between Allen and [[Rev. Billy Graham|Billy Graham]].{{sfn|Finch|Cox|Giles|2003|p=113}}<ref>William F. Buckley on Woody Allen Show, 1967</ref> Allen also performed standup comedy on other series, including ''The [[Andy Williams Show]]'' and ''The [[Perry Como]] Show'', where he interacted with other guests and occasionally sang.{{citation needed|date=June 2023}} In 1971, he hosted one of his final ''Tonight Shows'', with guests [[Bob Hope]] and [[James Coco]].<ref>Woody Allen guest hosts ''The Tonight Show'', 1971</ref> Hope praised Allen on the show, calling him "one of the finest young talents in show business and a great delight".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7SzaFF7KaY|title= Woody Allen Bob Hope Tonight Show 1971|website= Youtube|accessdate= April 29, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' magazine put Allen on the cover of its March 21, 1969, issue.<ref name="neat">{{cite web |title=Life 1969 |url=https://2neat.com/magazine/product-category/life-magazine-1936-2000/life-1969/ |publisher=2Neat.com |access-date=November 14, 2018}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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